Gemma Atkinson has shared her grief following the death of her beloved dog Norman.

The former Emmerdale star first announced Norman’s devastating death last weekend and has now taken to Instagram to open up about how she has been coping.

Gemma began by describing grief as “a funny old thing” that will “hit you out of nowhere,” adding: “We all deal and cope with it differently, there’s no rule book.”

“I didn’t train for over a week recently (which for me is a lot!). My head just wasn’t in it and I wanted to spend all my time with Norman. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions,” she continued.

The Strictly Come Dancing star shared how she collected Norman’s ashes before picking up the decorations for her eldest child Mia’s fifth birthday, describing it as “a strange day”.

“I’m personally someone who copes far better with physical pain than emotional pain, I always have been,” she added. “My go to has always been distraction. My sister always used to joke that my pain threshold was ridiculous when we were giving each other dead legs in her room. She however is the strongest person I know when it comes to dealing with things emotionally. Like I say, we all cope differently.”

Gemma continued by explaining how she started to feel “a little better” after her first gym session back, reminding her how “beneficial” it is for her to exercise and putting her in a “good head space” to train again the day after.

“I’ve always said my main reason for training is because it mentally keeps me on track and focused and puts me in a better place when it comes to everything else I need to do and be. I guess what I’m tying to say is, whatever it is you are dealing with and whoever it is you are missing, doing something for yourself in all the chaos will help.

“A walk, a run, meditation, yoga. I didn’t follow a program today, I just did whatever I felt like and although at the end Norman came back into my head, after my shower and food I felt really good. The endorphins kicked in and I drove to work singing in the car and did my radio show. Small steps to feeling like me again.”